Japan in 1997:
Japan today:
Cancún climate change summit: Japan refuses to extend Kyoto protocol
Talks threatened with breakdown after forthright Japanese refusal to extend Kyoto emissions commitments
* John Vidal guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 December 2010 18.16 GMT
Japan refuses to extend Kyoto protocol. ‘The forthrightness of the statement took people by surprise,’ said one British official
The delicately balanced global climate talks in Cancún suffered a serious setback last night when Japan categorically stated its opposition to extending the Kyoto protocol – the binding international treaty that commits most of the world’s richest countries to making emission cuts.
The Kyoto protocol was adopted in Japan in 1997 by major emitting countries, who committed themselves to cut emissions by an average 5% on 1990 figures by 2012.
However the US congress refused to ratify it and remains outside the protocol.
The brief statement, made by Jun Arima, an official in the government’s economics trade and industry department, in an open session, was the strongest yet made against the protocol by one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
He said: “Japan will not inscribe its target under the Kyoto protocol on any conditions or under any circumstances.”
The move came out of the blue for other delegations at the conference.
more at the Guardian
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Reality bites, when Japan says something so blunt, you know they mean it – Anthony
h/t to WUWT reader Steve (Paris)
UPDATE: I’ve made this a “sticky” to stay at the top of WUWT awhile – Anthony
Japan refuses to extend Kyoto treaty at Cancun
proving that the Japanese are smart people!
“Japan will not inscribe its target under the Kyoto protocol on any conditions or under any circumstances.”
Ah yes the ever practical Japanese. God bless them 🙂
When it made sense go along. When it doesn’t they change their ways. If only more people in power could simply eat some crow and say “we made a mistake and we are not going to throw good money after bad”.
Cheers to the Japanese and yes Anthony that was blunt especially by the usual Japanese politeness standards which put us to shame!
Japan basically says “we will not continue with Kyoto until China/Brazil/India/South Korea would follow”. China will show middle finger instead, and that is the end of fairy tale.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-03/coal-s-surge-coaxes-u-k-utilities-to-burn-wood-energy-markets.html
“Benchmark coal for delivery next month in Northwest Europe has climbed 41 percent this year to $117.25 a metric ton”
With the price of coal on the global markets skyrocketing a ‘Kyoto’ style treaty is a waste of time. Nuclear,Wind and Hydro are all cheaper then steam coal at a price in excess of $100/tonne. Even Thermal Solar is cost competitive in some geographic locations.
All another Kyoto treaty will accomplish is insure energy intensive industries are located in Non-Kyoto countries.
I.E. The Japanese make the precursor chemical for carbon fibers for BMW’s new econobox car. But since Germany and Japan are both limited in emissions by Kyoto, the actual carbon fiber spinning occurs in the US even though the cars will be built and sold in Europe.
“Anybody know how 2010 can be the hottest year on record when it has not ended?”
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Models said so……………
CodeTech says:
December 2, 2010 at 8:35 am
Good for Japan!
Not that it’s likely, but wouldn’t it be awesome if the rest of the attending countries would do the same? I mean, in my ideal fantasy world they ALL stand up, admit the whole thing is a load of crap, and go home.
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Thanks for that. Just started reading the comments and had a good laugh at yours, out loud like.
This is cheering news.
Gary lensman,
“As an aside, can somebody please explain how a two degree rise in temperature is “catastrophic”. The Antarctic is minus 55 degrees, two degrees makes that minus 53, how will that melt it.”
It is an average temperature. Since antarctic and the arctic are fairly small in proportion to the whole globe, temperatures there, it is believed, could rise tens of degrees while equatorial temperatures don’t change at all.
Vince says (thank you Vince)
Quote
It is an average temperature. Since antarctic and the arctic are fairly small in proportion to the whole globe, temperatures there, it is believed, could rise tens of degrees while equatorial temperatures don’t change at all.
unquote
But, there is absolutely no evidence of that sort of warming and you put in the rider, Believed, So how is that Catastrophic.
Shakes head, Japanese cherry blossom studies break the ice.
In the Daily Telegraph today Roger Highfield the editor of New Scientist said ‘that it has long been accepted that one of the effects of global warming could be global cooling. Is it the vagaries of the elements that we should be cursing through our chattering teeth, or the carbon emissions from Chinese smokestacks?’ How clever is that then!
And so the fervor of global warming activism dies not with a bang but a whimper.
Vince Causey says:
December 3, 2010 at 9:24 am
Gary lensman,
…could rise tens of degrees while equatorial temperatures don’t change at all.
I am writing from near the equator line, and, believe me, here too we are having lower than normal temperatures (not funny 4 to 6 degrees less than avg.)
“Japan refuses to extend Kyoto protocol. ‘The forthrightness of the statement took people by surprise,’ said one British official ”
It’s called waking up and smelling the coffee mate.
As Delegates Meet in Cancun, Critics Say UN Is Wrong Venue for Climate Change Debate
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/02/climate-conference-opens-critics-new-way/
from the article:
“The problem we are in with the U.N. is that we are going nowhere,” says Judith Curry, chairwoman of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech. “We need a game change.”
Because the U.N. focuses almost exclusively on limiting greenhouse gases, Curry says, a number of environmental problems that pose an even greater immediate threat than long-term climate change are being ignored.
“The IPCC reports a ‘laundry list’ of problems but doesn’t prioritize them,” she says. “But there are two types of environmental problems. There are the ‘slow creep’ issues and the immediate dangers.”
One of the most compelling dangers, Curry says, is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which could raise sea levels 19 feet if it slips into the ocean. She calls that a looming catastrophe that could happen in the next few generations but has been overshadowed by the U.N.
Stick a fork in it
In the good old days of the 97-98 El Niño we had up to 28 degrees Celsius by these days in December, now we are having 18, and totally low altitude cloud covered sky (a courtesy of Svensmark’s “Chilling Stars” 🙂 )
And no sign of a report of this on the BBC yet.
Where is Roger Harrabin?
harrywr2:
Thank you for your interesting report at December 3, 2010 at 9:15 am that says ‘renewables’ are cost competitive with coal on your planet.
Do you want a report from here on planet Earth for you to take back in reply?
Richard
“Enneagram says:
December 3, 2010 at 10:22 am
Vince Causey says:
December 3, 2010 at 9:24 am
Gary lensman,
…could rise tens of degrees while equatorial temperatures don’t change at all.
I am writing from near the equator line, and, believe me, here too we are having lower than normal temperatures (not funny 4 to 6 degrees less than avg.)”
If necessary, I can send you a pair of mittens and a nice wool hat. 😉
They could have waited until 07 December – Tora Tora Tora!
Perhaps a rampant giant has been put to bed rather than a sleeping one awakened.
Heard from a man at the BOM this morning talking on ABC radio – we can expect more “extreme events” with climate change like cold snaps in Europe and floods in Australia.
Must see: Senator Inhofe: ‘I Was Right and They Were Wrong’ — ‘I couldn’t be happier and poor Al Gore couldn’t be more upset: it has been widely reported that he is ‘depressed’ about Cancún’
Remember Sarcozy in 2000 saying that Kyoto was one of the pillars of Global Government.
Obama is trying to achieve his agenda via administrative measures instead of the Senate. We can’t let that happen.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/senator-inhofe-i-was-right-and-they-were-wrong/
ROFL!! Ok, ok, so it’s Jeffrey Dahmer, Hannibal Lector, and Sean Peake
Or, perhaps with the CAGW crop disruptions, it’s soylent green time?
Or are we just recognizing the massive harm to society that these AGW gravy trainers are doing, and its a mercy sort of thing, with simple recycling to honor the gravy trainer wishes?
Arctic Cold Grips East US Next
http://www.accuweather.com/video/90586657001/arctic-cold-grips-east-next-week-snow-to-follow?.asp
Richard S Courtney says:
December 3, 2010 at 11:40 am
“harrywr2:
Thank you for your interesting report at December 3, 2010 at 9:15 am that says ‘renewables’ are cost competitive with coal on your planet.”
Lets do the math. A metric tonne of ‘benchmark steam coal’ at $117/tonne works out to be a fuel cost of a little over 5 cents per kilowatt just for the fuel. For a 1,000 Megawatt coal fired plant runing 75% utilization that puts the annual fuel cost at about $350 million.
A 1,000 megawatt windfarm costs $1 billion. But since they only work a 3rd of the time we need 3 of them. So three 1,000 megawatt wind farms cost $3 billion. It’ll take around 8.5 years to pay for the wind farm in fuel savings using ‘global’ coal costs.(Not midwestern US coal costs).
Then let’s look at nuclear. They cost around $6 billion to build in the US. It’ll take 17-20 years to pay for the nuclear pant in fuel savings. But of course a nuclear plant lasts 60 years. If you already need to build a new power plant, then subtracting out the $4 billion a 1,000 megawatt ‘clean coal’ without carbon capturet will cost makes it even more attractive.
Is natural gas an alternative? I dunno some folks think so. The price of natural gas in the US works out to be a fuel cost of about 4 cents/KW.
The Three Gorges Dam in China, the equivalent of TEN 1,000 megawatt coal plants was built at a cost of $15 billion. At a $3.5 billion dollar a year fuel saving compared to coal, it pays for itself in a little over 4 years.
The reality is that year on year coal prices rose in most of the world by 40% last year, the ‘going rate’ in Asia and Europe is now at $117/tonne.
Central Appalachian coal was selling for $54 a ton ‘mine mouth’ last December. It’s selling at $71 a ton(mine mouth) now.
Personally I think the whole AGW think is ‘way overblown’ at best.
On the other hand the days of enjoying ‘cheap electricity’ from $25/ton coal are over except for those folks who live in Wyoming.
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King of Cool says:
December 3, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Heard from a man at the BOM this morning talking on ABC radio – we can expect more “extreme events” with climate change like cold snaps in Europe and floods in Australia.
Yep the same tired message by the same figurehead that has been at the forefront of confusing things in Australia – must have been responding to a gee-up email from the team.
Give us a last ditch appeal from the last remain gullible in Australia. “Cancun needs your help and please secure some more funding Brrrr we need to buy coal for heating!”
Signs that show man made global warming is still happening
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100066594/signs-that-show-man-made-global-warming-is-definitely-still-happening/